James Adonis is one of Australia's best-known people-management thinkers

There’s a clever scene in the movie Con Air in which a psychopath talks fondly of famous murderers. Nicholas Cage eventually snaps, labelling them insane. The psychopath responds:

“What if I told you insane was working fifty hours a week in some office for fifty years at the end of which they tell you to piss off; ending up in some retirement village hoping to die before suffering the indignity of trying to make it to the toilet on time? Wouldn't you consider that to be insane?”

Isn’t it a little insane we work in environments where bullying is a standard part of the landscape?

So let’s consider it, then. Working excessive hours might be OK if it’s a job you love. But isn’t it a little insane many of us work in jobs that make us deeply unhappy? For example, a study conducted in 2013 by the Australian Psychological Society found wellbeing, job satisfaction, and work stress have “significantly” worsened in recent years. Those factors are even worse here than in Europe where the force of the GFC has been merciless.

Isn’t it a little insane the corporate attire we’re forced to wear is actually an inhibitor to performance? Research last year by a trio of institutions, including the University of Wollongong, concluded formal clothing makes employees feel less friendly, less creative, less productive and less comfortable. That last one, in particular, is perhaps responsible for the eyesore that is the horrid suits and sneakers look on public transport.

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Speaking of transport, isn’t it a little insane that work schedules are such that a majority of people start and finish at the same time thereby creating congestion of a variety that, for some of us, induces thoughts of homicide? Peak hour traffic in Melbourne is now 23 km/h slower than a decade ago, and Sydney is the world’s seventh-most congested city, just behind Los Angeles. Even buses and trains are packed to such an extent they’re a breeding ground for frotteurism.

Isn’t it a little insane that people resort to shiftwork even though they’re cursed not only with unsociable hours but also a wide range of afflictions? A plethora of studies document the much higher rates of breast cancer, prostate cancer, heart attacks, and vehicle accidents among those who work nights. That research also verifies the unhealthy habits, such as bingeing on snacks and forgoing exercise, that afflict shift workers. Meanwhile, their productivity at work plummets.

Then again, even the nine-to-fivers continue working well into the evening by an anxiety called ‘nomophobia’, otherwise known as smartphone addiction. Isn’t it a little insane that people are so hooked on these devices that any positive effects are eroded by the negative impacts? Heaps of research shows 50 per cent of us check our phone in bed, 44 per cent check it daily while on holidays, and 60 per cent work an extra 25 hours a week because of it.

Isn’t it a little insane we work in environments where bullying is a standard part of the landscape? Safe Work Australia released a report in 2012, which calculated that 7 per cent of employees had been bullied in the previous six months. That compares alarmingly to other rates around the world, which vary between 1 per cent and 4 per cent. The same analysis found bullying costs the economy $693 million a year. As a nation, we do workplace bullying really well.

Granted, this article has been extremely one-sided. There are, of course, many wonderful things about the way we work, such as the greater disposable income we get, which enables us to engage enthusiastically with consumerism. (Or, hey, maybe that’s not a good thing after all.)

So, look, I don’t know. You tell me. Is there something a little insane about the way we’re working?

93 comments so far

And as the population continues to rise, the quality of life for the majority continues to fall.

you're doing a fine job Liberal and Labor, keep it up!

Commenter

kanga

Date and time

August 29, 2014, 6:22AM

The government has got nothing to do with job satisfaction.

Commenter

iworry

Date and time

August 29, 2014, 9:23AM

"...continues to fall." Really? Have you looked at any other countries to see how GOOD we have it?

We have become so polarised by the pollies we no longer have any sense of perspective.

Commenter

Really?

Date and time

August 29, 2014, 9:35AM

sorry but govt is not responsible for quality of life.....or your happiness

Commenter

tim

Location

newtown

Date and time

August 29, 2014, 10:42AM

THANKS OBAMA

Commenter

HighlyDubious

Date and time

August 29, 2014, 12:13PM

@ kanga population growth does not have anything to do with the change in corporate/working culture.

Commenter

Melburnite

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

August 29, 2014, 1:25PM

Population does have a lot to do with the change in work culture IMO.

As the population increases, so too do the numbers of people looking for work. Where there used to be X amount of applicants for certain jobs, there are now X+++ applicants. The successful applicants are now placing far higher value on their jobs and are willing to work longer hours and take less annual leave.

After spending 40+ years in the workforce in Australia, both as an employer and as an employee, I have witnessed first hand how conditions have changed. Unfortunately in most cases, not for the better.

Commenter

kanga

Date and time

August 29, 2014, 2:18PM

kangaThe extra demand from those people creates more opportunity for business and, in turn, creates more jobs.

It's not a higher population that means you have to work harder. It's the fact that every company is a pyramid and to climb your way to the top you have to work harder than all your competitors. There are fewer positions the higher you go so that means more competitors.

Companies seek profit and reward those who generate them the most profit. It's all cyclical.

Add to that the fact that we want to enjoy higher living standards than in the past. Whereas 1 car in a 3br house with 1 bathroom was sufficient 30 years ago. We now want double that.

Commenter

Bender

Date and time

August 29, 2014, 3:55PM

Bender, I do not agree with your response. If higher populations equate to higher employment, then why are so many unemployed in India and China? Additionally, employment numbers were far better in Australia in the 50's, 60's and 70's than they are today, when the population was around half of what it is today. And let's not forget how governments today have skewed the manner in which employment statistics are announced.

Regarding us wanting to enjoy a higher standard of living than what people enjoyed in the past is a line often used by politicians to justify higher taxation and poor management.

I classify free time, particularly when it's spent with our kids, as good and happy times. Such times were common in Australia up until around the beginning of the 1970's. There was far less stress, traffic chaos and road rage. Housing was affordable and families on an average wage could afford to buy a home within 40 minutes from the CDB without spending sleepless nights stressing out about the debt. In fact, most could afford this on only one salary.

I'm afraid Bender, that Australia's best years are long gone. That's not to say we can't get back our mojo, but it's going to be a huge task with the current quality of leadership we've endured over the past several decades.

Commenter

kanga

Date and time

August 29, 2014, 5:42PM

There are personal preferences to 'quality of life'. It is a subjective thing!